Mississippi man, 78, dies 2 weeks after being found alive in body bag at funeral home

LEXINGTON, Miss. — A 78-year-old Mississippi man has died two weeks after he woke up in a body bag at a funeral home after being mistakenly pronounced deceased, a coroner said.

Holmes County Coroner Dexter Howard said Walter Williams died at his home in Lexington around 1 a.m. Thursday. The cause was not released.

Williams' story went viral after he was pronounced dead Feb. 26. Workers at Porter and Sons Funeral Home were getting ready to embalm him when Williams started to move.

The father of 11, grandfather of 15, and great-grandfather of six had gone into hospice in late February because of congestive heart failure. He was declared dead by a coroner the first time when neither the coroner nor others, including nurses, could find a pulse.

"After they got through checking him, the coroner, they pronounced him dead and put him in a plastic bag, zipped him up and took him, put him in the hearse and they left," said Eddie Hester, Williams' nephew.